To date, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship has lacked a conceptual framework. In this note we draw upon previous research conducted in the different social science disciplines and applied fields of business to create a conceptual framework for the field. With this framework we explain a set of empirical phenomena and predict a set of outcomes not explained or predicted by conceptual frameworks already in existence in other fields.

The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research

计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

This survey reviews the growing use of patent data in economic analysis. After describing some of the main characteristics of patents and patent data, it focuses on the use of patents as an indicator of technological change. Cross-sectional and time-series studies of the relationship of patents to R&D expenditures are reviewed, as well as scattered estimates of the distribution of patent values and the value of patent rights, the latter being based on recent analyses of European patent renewal data. Time-series trends of patents granted in the U.S. are examined and their decline in the 1970s is found to be an artifact of the budget stringencies at the Patent Office. The longer run downward trend in patents per R&D dollar is interpreted not as an indication of diminishing returns but rather as a reflection of the changing meaning of such data over time. The conclusion is reached that, in spite of many difficulties and reservations, patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.

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Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey

To assess the effects of a firm's network of relations on innovation, this paper elaborates a theoretical framework that relates three aspects of a firm's ego network—direct ties, indirect ties, an...

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Collaboration Networks, Structural Holes, and Innovation: A Longitudinal Study:

Offering a unifying theoretical perspective not readily available in any other text, this innovative guide to econometrics uses simple geometrical arguments to develop students' intuitive understanding of basic and advanced topics, emphasizing throughout the practical applications of modern theory and nonlinear techniques of estimation. One theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification. Explaining how estimates can be obtained and tests can be carried out, the authors go beyond a mere algebraic description to one that can be easily translated into the commands of a standard econometric software package. Covering an unprecedented range of problems with a consistent emphasis on those that arise in applied work, this accessible and coherent guide to the most vital topics in econometrics today is indispensable for advanced students of econometrics and students of statistics interested in regression and related topics. It will also suit practising econometricians who want to update their skills. Flexibly designed to accommodate a variety of course levels, it offers both complete coverage of the basic material and separate chapters on areas of specialized interest.

Estimation and Inference in Econometrics

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Small Business Economics Journal Editor of the Year Award

The hypothesis that increased entrepreneurial activity in the early stages of an industry's life cycle leads to higher growth rates of regional economies is tested. As a result, some of the theories explaining the variation in growth rates across local economies are examined. Also noted are the theories that explain variations in growth rates across local economies. Data were used from the Bureau of the Census that includes birth and survival and growth statistics in different types of establishments. Also, a Longitudinal Establishment and Enterprise Microdata (LEEM) file was used that tracks employment, payroll, and firm affiliation for the more than 11 million establishments that had employees during 1989-1999. The LEEM file was constructed by the Bureau of the Census from its Statistics of U.S. Business (SUSB) files. A regression model is presented along with empirical results. Findings indicate that higher rates of entrepreneurial activity were strongly association with faster growth of local economies. It is concluded that new firms are more important than the stock of small firms in a region, but the manufacturing sector appears to be an exception. Preliminary results suggest that theories of growth should involve entrepreneurship to understand better how knowledge spillovers operate.(JSD)

Employment Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities

The BITS database constructed for the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration is uniquely suitable for testing new approaches to explaining regional differences in economic growth rates. Recent theories of economic growth view local externalities, as opposed to scale economies, as the primary engine in generating growth in cities with their closely integrated surrounding counties (Labor Market Areas). While scale economies operate at the plant level, externalities operate at the level of the firm, primarily through entrepreneurial activity.

New Firm Formation and the Region: Empirical Results from the United States

Based on institutional theory and risk perspectives, this study examines how the entrepreneurial orientation of firms as determined by national cultural factors is related to the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging and developing countries. We also suggest that institutional improvements can have a moderating effect on the relationship between culture and internationalization. We develop a unique measure of internationalization and test it on a sample of 7,212 SMEs from 36 developing countries using a multilevel linear hierarchical model that allows us to examine both firm- and country-level effects. We find that developed institutions support the internationalization of SMEs from more masculine and individualistic cultures.

Where Angels Fear to Tread: Internationalization of Emerging Country SMEs

In order to explore the divergent growth rate in cities, which leads to income inequality, the impact of entrepreneurs and their goods on local economies is examined.Specifically, the focus is on how innovative entrepreneurs lead to a variety in goods and economic heterogeneity in cities, which both reduce the divergence of growth rates. Though it is clear that a city's heterogeneity leads to its growth, it is not clear whether heterogeneity results from knowledge spillover or a combination of risk pooling, shared infrastructure, and thick labor markets.A cities heterogeneity can be attributed to its entrepreneurial innovation.In exploring the origin of this innovation, endogenous economic growth theory is discussed. The manner in which entrepreneurship can increase knowledge spillover, and in turn heterogeneity, is also examined. Using the insight garnered from these analyses, a new 'spatial' theory of technology-led regional economic growth is needed to address three fundamental issues: (1) why knowledge-related economic activities concentrate in certain regions, (2) how technological advance occurs and the key processes and institutions involved, and (3) how the role of technological change in regional economic growth can be put into an analytical framework.(SRD)

Zoltan J. Acs

Papers

Small Business Economics Journal Editor of the Year Award

Employment Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities

New Firm Formation and the Region: Empirical Results from the United States

Where Angels Fear to Tread: Internationalization of Emerging Country SMEs

Innovations and the Growth of Cities